U2 iPod, Photo iPod and Additional iTMS Localizations Released

[Wigletbill]

Now shipping...

I know Steve said they (ipod photo 60GB) were shipping immediately but when I ordered mine immediately after the announcement it said 1-2 weeks. Well I got my order that it shipped today from China. I won't see it for a week (est Nov. 3rd) but way to go Apple for beating a hip time for once! Too bad I paid for 2 day shipping though....


Joel
(sorry if this is a duplicate post)

 

[dejo]

Mine Shipped Too!

I also got an email from Apple this morning telling me my iPod Photo has been shipped! I ordered it around 12:30 AM MDT yesterday. And with 2-3 business day express shipping tacked on there (I had to splurge), it hopefully will be in my hands either Friday or Monday (although the Fedex tracking states the estimated delivery date to be (Wed.) Nov. 3rd by 12pm. Woo-hoo!

P.S. Mine shipped from Shanghai, China.

 

[Philsy]

I think it's time to expand the iPod brand to include a PDA. This could follow the iPod form factor but with a larger touch-screen (scroll wheel would have to go, I'm afraid). As well as playing music and viewing photos you could also manage your calender, address book and play games. It's always seemed daft to me that an iPod allows you to view your calender but not to change it.

iSync works so well with my Sony Ericcson phone that I can really see the potential of an iPod PDA. And with the success of iPod as a fashion gadget a PDA would be a surefire success and encourage more people to buy Macs.

Umm, so am I the only person who wants an iPod PDA then?

 

[dejo]

The U2 iPod comes with $50 off the complete U2, but where is it? I haven't seen it posted on iTMS yet. Is it going to cost $500 too?

As stated during The Event yesterday, The Complete U2 will be released November 23rd, same day as their new album.

 

[DocB]

iPhoto for Windows

Does anyone know how the iPod Photo will work with Windows? I'm just curious. Do you think this will lead Apple to releasing iLife for Windows? Just a thought.

 

[Penman]

I agree it's all a bit far fetched but Apple said that there are some hidden features in those iPods...
Info about the antenna would sure be appreciated.

TO be 'Mr. Downer' again I have to point out that 'remote' does not have to mean 'wireless' or 'radio'. Toy manufacturers often label toys 'remote control' that have wires coming out of them. We already have remote control and besides, the iPod wouldn't be hiding a secret that big. It's nonsensical ("Look a click wheel! We've given you wi-fi but it's a secret...")

When the iPod goes wireless Jobs will be screaming about it I assure you.

 

[whooleytoo]

Does anyone know how the iPod Photo will work with Windows? I'm just curious. Do you think this will lead Apple to releasing iLife for Windows? Just a thought.

You can use Photoshop Album or Elements, or just select a folder containing pics and sync it. Whether this is a stopgap until iPhoto is ported (a la Musicmatch) or an indication iPhoto isn't going to be ported - who knows?

 

[dejo]

Does anyone know how the iPod Photo will work with Windows? I'm just curious. Do you think this will lead Apple to releasing iLife for Windows? Just a thought.

To review (in case you missed it somewhere in the hundreds of previous posts):

iPod Photo will work fine with Windows, since the photo syncing capability is built into the new iTunes 4.7. Therefore, it does not appear that Apple will need to release iLife for Windows.

 

[jsw]

Does anyone know how the iPod Photo will work with Windows? I'm just curious.

It will work via iTunes and Windows-specific editing software such as Photoshop Elements 3.0 (see Apple's website). Presumably it'll work just as smoothly with Windows as the current 'pods do.

Do you think this will lead Apple to releasing iLife for Windows? Just a thought.

No. iLife is an incentive for people to buy Macs. iTunes was necessary so that Windows users would buy iPods and have a decent way to populate them.

 

[dejo]

The next countdown

So, with iTMS released to all the new countries (welcome aboard, by the way; Canada, hang in there, eh?), any predictions as to when we'll hit 200 million downloads?

 

[whooleytoo]

*ducks to avoid Canadians*

What do ducks have against Canadians? </terrible>

Never mind the Canadians, what about the Irish? Why have Apple supported every Euro country except us? Lucky we're not the paranoid type (in spite of what you all think! )

 

[CubaTBird]

ipod socks? oooooooooo.....mi......god

 

[dejo]

Never mind the Canadians, what about the Irish? Why have Apple supported every Euro country except us? Lucky we're not the paranoid type (in spite of what you all think! )

So, that's really true? Every other Euro currency country but Ireland?

C'mon, U2! You must have some pull with Apple by now! (Unless it's beyond Apple's control).

iTMS Ireland same day as U2 iPod would've been the penultimate!

 

[rteichman]

Okay, I need to chime in on this whole "I need to see how much thicker it is" attitude. The iPod Photo is 0.75 inches thick, .06 inches thicker than the 4G 40GB iPod. .06 inches. That's about a 1/16 of an inch. Or about 1.5mm for you metric types. I gotta think that's nothing to get all worried about.

Well at lunch I stoped by my local Apple store and took a long hard look at the 20GB and 40GB units. The 40GB "feels" much thicker and heavier than the 20GB, and the iPhoto units are even bigger and heavier. As much as I want a new iPod photo and would be willing to pay for the 60GB unit (so I could use it as backup storage as well) I do not want anything larger than the current 20 GB unit. I guess I will have to wait for the next release, which is a pain since I am running out of space on my 3G 15GB iPod.

 

[Giantred]

Umm, so am I the only person who wants an iPod PDA then?

Philsy what You were describing seems to be an iPod with a touch screen interface. All those things you want (music, calander, contacts, and games in one place,) your iPod can do right now! So what you are saying is that you want the Ipod to become like that Epson 2000 with a big screen, thats touch....... Hmm


Corey

 

[CalfCanuck]

Maybe direct Camera to Photo iPod support is next ...

After mulling this overnight, and wondering why Apple would spend all the resources to put on a color screen for photogrpahy but not have it be very useful, I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that Apple's plans must already include some sort of direct camera to iPod transfer.

Think about it - all decent cameras have USB or FW support, and so does the iPod. Why even bother with the Compact Flash card reader? The iPod's OS is already built around a fairly complex file system, so the only serious coding to be done is:

1. Recognize when a camera is attached (already open standards for this?)

2. Perform a check of existing files on the iPod compared to files on the camera - file name, creation date, etc.

3. Offer the user a chance to copy the missing files to the iPod.

It might be that the iPod team was swamped with designing, coding, and testing and had to push this feature to a later date, but now that the iPod is out in time for the Christmas season they might shift their energies towards implementing this in SOFTWARE.

The issue of now supporting all file types (RAW, etc) is a red herring. Even Photoshop CS doesn't support new cameras for about 6 months, but does that mean photographers don't use their new cameras? I don't want tosee my image on a 2" screen, I just want to store it until I get back home. Did people stop taking pictures on vaction with their old cameras because they couldn't see the pictures until they were developed?

The unique use of a device like the iPod is as a TEMPORARY place to hold pictures when you're away from a computer, until you can upload them to your Mac and print them out (or do some serious digital darkroom work, if you're a pro).

No one does photo editing on a tiny storage device like the iPod, so if I can't open the file, who cares?

This is in line with the Syncing feature - why assume it's to sync FROM your computer to your iPod - why isn't it to UPLOAD from your iPod TO your Mac?

 

[Inkmonkey]

macrumors.com is mentioned in this article from the Canadian media regarding the upcoming iTunes localization:

Apple to open iTunes music store in Canada next month

The Vancouver Sun
Wed 27 Oct 2004
Page: D4
Section: BusinessBC
Byline: Andrew Mayeda
Source: Ottawa Citizen

Ending months of speculation, Apple Computer Inc. said Tuesday it will launch its popular iTunes online music store in Canada next month.

But fans of the company's products -- who have been clamoring for iTunes information on websites such as Macrumors.com -- will have to wait for more details.

Apple did not provide specifics such as price and the number of songs available.

The move is the latest sign that the market for paid music downloads is maturing here as the music industry struggles to adapt to an online business model.

ITunes will go head to head with Napster.ca, launched this summer by digital-media company Roxio Inc., and Moontaxi Media Inc.'s Puretracks.com, the first paid online-music service in Canada, which has a marketing arrangement with Vancouver-based TELUS.

Quebecor Media Inc. recently introduced its own service, Archambault.ca, and retailers such as Future Shop, a unit of Best Buy Co., have licensed Puretracks' technology to launch online music stores.

Launched in spring 2003, the online iTunes store has become the dominant provider of paid online music, racking up more than 150 million downloads.

Apple has a market share of over 70 per cent in Britain and the United States, where users can download individual songs for 99 cents US.

The service has become an effective online platform for the company's iPod digital-music player, which accounted for over 12 per cent of sales in the last quarter.

ITunes should do well here, since its brand is already well recognized among music fans young and old, said analyst Kaan Yigit, president of Solutions Research.

But the service will be more effective as a tool for selling iPods than as a stand-alone business, he said, because demand for paid download services has yet to take off.

 

[iGary]

The iPod Photo's are available in some of the Apple Stores.

Perhaps that is what Steve meant.

I'd like one, but the screen is too small for me to show work to clients and my 12" iBook is just as easy to carry around.

Only reason I'd upgrade would be for the color screen and the ability to store "fun" pictures to share with friends.

There is already a product on the market called "Image Tank" that is HD-based and accepts CF cards. It also has a color screen.

 

[Inkmonkey]

How does the LCD on the iPod Photo compare to most LCDs on digital cameras?

 

[Jovian9]

Here's my 2 cents on the complaints by those who want better features for their photos:
This is an iPod. You have never been able to directly put your music into the iPod without a computer. They make you take your music media (cd's) and put them into your computer and then into the iPod.
Same thing with pics. Apple wants you to take your pics, put them into your computer and then into the iPod.
The iPod is for listening to music. The iPod Photo is for listening to music and viewing photos. Most music on your iPod is lower quality than on your cd's......and most photos will be lower quality on a lower quality screen than from your camera.
This is a device that is supposed to be fun for you to use. Maybe one day they'll have a Pro iPod lineup that allows you to do the things you want to do with photos, or videos, or DJ'ing, or PDA'ing.......but for now they do not.
I for one see no problem with the new iPods. Sure the price is higher, but you get a color screen, the ability to look at photos and album art while listening to music, and you get longer battery life than any other iPod thus far.

 

[Jovian9]

I'm guessing you haven't used an iPod much then. If you're on the move going into your pocket, unlocking the keys, and skipping a track is a complete pain. Likewise if it's secure and your exercising.

While I agree that not including the remote in a $500-$600 iPod is ridiculous......I do not agree with HAVING/NEEDING to use it for any situation. My wife and I have had every gen of iPod and we tried using the remotes as much as possible......but they'd always end up sitting on the shelf. The remote is not very good. The best use for it was extending the earphone length.

 

[Jovian9]

No, it's the Hal 2001 Space Odyssey iPod.

Man, that thing is ugly.

If it indeed looked like the HAL 9000 I'd definitely have to buy it. That would be awesome!

 

[weldon]

I think the best and most important new feature of the iPod photo is support for cover art. Not sure I'd pay $100 more for that, but I'd like to have cover art on my B&W 4G iPod.

 

[nagromme]

RemoteRemote 2

If you want a remote--or wireless--maybe this is what you want:

http://www.engineeredaudio.com/products/remote2.html

I've read reviews and I'm getting one. It has a headphone pass-through (audio only) on the right side of the receiver pod (not the remote). And it's RF, not line-of-sight. (Want to use it with iPod Photo's TV-out? Just use the TV-out on the Dock.)

I'd mainly use it at home with my stereo--it's all the wireless I need!

But I'd also use it when walking etc., when I want a remote. Having that wireless remote seems simpler than Apple's spaghetti.

 

[Penman]

While I agree that not including the remote in a $500-$600 iPod is ridiculous......I do not agree with HAVING/NEEDING to use it for any situation. My wife and I have had every gen of iPod and we tried using the remotes as much as possible......but they'd always end up sitting on the shelf. The remote is not very good. The best use for it was extending the earphone length.

I agree with you. I want it but I also resent how bad it is. Any $100 Sony or Panasonic remote looks the iPod one seem lame and poorly engineered. It's one of those things that remind you that Apple still have things to learn from the consumer electronics companies. A small LCD with an Apple interface could be a real selling point. Anyway...